Liquor Ordinance

Tonight's city council meeting has the revision to the city's liquor ordinance on the agenda.  As proposed, it would allow grocery stores to get a class C2 license, allowing them to sell beer and wine only and not if they have a gas station within 200 feet.  Councilmen Chris Wissmann's comments about the proposed ordinance can be found here and Don Monty's are here.  Councilwoman Jane Adams had this to say  about the ordinance:



We have a lengthy agenda at our meeting Tuesday, but the most important item is an amendment to the City’s liquor ordinance. I think that we have tried your patience with our deliberations, but I hope this is the end or at least the beginning of the end.

We will be considering an amendment that allows the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores. At their July 7 meeting, after addressing comments and questions from the audience, the Liquor Advisory Board voted to recommend the more restrictive and limited sales of beer, wine, and spirits of the two proposals put before them (see my last blog, July 6).

I’ve talked with a lot of people about the issue and have found that most people I’ve spoken with first say they want beer and wine in grocery stores. But as we talk many of them say they would like to be able to buy spirits as well as beer and wine in grocery stores, and they’d like to be able to buy alcoholic beverages in gas station convenience stores, as well.

The amendments before us also require liquor sales in grocery stores to end at 11:00 p.m., rather than 1:59, which is closing time for all other establishments that sell liquor. And it has a lower fee for grocery store licenses than for regular package liquor licenses.

I'm not a big fan of the "grocery store" ordinance as the restriction regarding closeness to gas stations is nonsensical since we have at least three drive up liquor windows in town,  creating another class of licenses adds unneeded bureaucracy,  and not including gas stations just means we will have to reopen the whole thing in another year or so.  I would also like to see the ordinance take effect 6 months to a year after passage to allow currently existing stores time to adjust their product mix.  We currently have 8 liquor stores in town.  Based on the number of liquor only stores in surrounding communities that allow liquor sold in grocery and convenience stores ( only 1 in Murphysboro, 3 in Marion), I'd bet we see 4 of the current stores close up within 5 years after the ordinance is passed. 

Can't be there tonight, but based on their past actions, I expect Mayor Frizler and councilmen Monty and Fronbarger to vote in favor of some form of a revised ordinance and Wissmann to strongly oppose it.  Councilwoman McDaniels has shown little opposition to granting new liquor licenses in the past, so I'd expect her to vote in favor.  Lance Jack and Jane Adams, I'm not certain about.  Both on on record as supporting local businesses as the heart of the community, but given Jack's struggles to get his own liquor license, I don't think he could oppose some other business applying for one. Adams doesn't have  a track record yet, save for voting in favor of liquor licenses for the Icebox and Elite Lounge, though her comments above lead me to think she leans towards a "yes" vote as well.  Ergo, if the vote tonight goes the way I think it will, and the proposal doesn't get tabled for more work, the council votes 6 to 1 in favor with Chris Wissmann the lone opponent.